Newport Gulls Vs Manchester Silkworms
NEWPORT, RI- The
Silkworms bats were eerily silent Friday as Manchester
dropped a double header to the Newport Gulls after falling
5-0 and 8-1 in front of a record crowd of 3,250 at Cardines
Field.
Newport outscored the Silkworms 13-1 and out hit Manchester
18-6 in the two seven inning affairs.
In game one, Newport starter Will Stroup missed a near
no-hitter when Ryan Lavarnway roped a single to right field
to help give Manchester their first hit of the evening in
the top of the sixth inning.
The final of the twin bill, featured a six run bottom of the
third for the Gulls as Newport took command after pounding
11 hits to take a two game lead over second place North
Adams and Torrington.
Despite the doubleheader sweep, the Silkworms remain two and
a half games ahead of Danbury for the fourth and final slot.
"We didn't swing the bats well," stated Silkworms manager
Trevor Brown after the two losses.
"Tomorrow's game against Danbury is huge. It's the most
important of the year."
Third baseman Stephen Crawford added the second hit in game
one immediately following Lavarnway to snap the one hitter
by Stroup.
However, it wasn't enough to overpower the Gulls as Newport
picked up their first shutout of the season on the strength
the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Stroup improved to 4-3, while Manchester starter Tim
Stringer fell to 1-3.
The outing by Stringer was solid, but not enough to stifle
the Newport bats. In five innings pitched, he allowed three
earned runs on five hits, while walking two and fanning six
in 23 batters faced.
"Tim kept us in the ball game," Brown said. "When we lost
the first one [game], it was tough to come back."
Brandon Otto came in the game for his 12th appearance of the
season in the 6th inning, allowing two runs to score on two
hits.
Both runs were ruled unearned due to an error by shortstop
Kyle Higgins allowing Newport to widen the gap to 5-0.
Newport broke down the hinges in the third inning of game
two after ten batters made their rounds to plate six runs on
five hits against starter Jacob Wiley.
Wiley's (1-1) night ended early after pitching two and a
third innings allowing four earned runs on two strikeouts
and one walk.
Relievers Eddie Bethke and Jason Pizzoferrato came in to
help alleviate the deficit, but the Gulls placed four more
runs on six hits.
Gulls starter Will Skelton (2-0) pitched a solid two hit
shutout, while striking out four in five innings of work to
pick up a win in his first start of the year.
Second baseman Matt Nandin grounded a single up the middle
on Gull reliever Stephen Peterson to drive in Matt Smedberg
for the Silkworm's only run scored during the contest.
"They got a well pitched game from Skelton and their big
crowed kept us out of it," Brown said.
The Silkworms will look to rally back as they travel to
Rustic Rogers Park to take on the Danbury Westerners at 7:00
PM on Saturday for most important regular season game thus
far.
Russell Luna and Chris Ippolitio will have the call on
Teamline.
NOTES: Newport took a 4-2 advantage in the overall regular
season series in 2007.
Manchester is now 9-3 against left handed starters. All
three loses have came from Newport pitching---two losses
from pitcher Will Stroup and one loss from Will Skelton.
Right fielder Jay Schillaci was injured during in the second
inning of game one and was pulled due to a lower body
injury. It is highly doubtful that Schillaci would return to
the starting lineup for the game against Danbury.
Trinity College product Chandler Barnard came in for
Schillaci. It was Barnard's first appearance of the season
at the plate. He was 0-2 and hit by a pitch in the third
inning.
Infielder Casey Frawley is still suffering from an upper
body injury that plagued him earlier in the week. He is
expected to return Tuesday against Pittsfield.
It should be noted that the "record crowd" of 3,250 was
counted for game two. There was no official estimated total
for game one.
Game two was delayed a half hour due to a ceremony honoring
pitcher Rusty Begnaud, who played for the Gulls in 2002.
Begnaud was paralyzed after a swimming accident in
Pensacola, Florida last season and has been in recovery ever
since.
Over 15,000 dollars was raised for Begnaud, in support of
helping Rusty's rehabilitation.
